Jacksonville native takes the stage in 'The Color Purple'

Based on the Alice Walker novel, Broadway show comes to Times-Union Center on Tuesday

Paul Kolnik For The Times-UnionAngela Robinson plays blues singer Shug Avery in "The Color Purple." Robinson grew up in Springfield, went to Raines High School and got her theater start at the Alhambra.

Share your reviews

E-mail your review of 75 words or less to everyonesacritic@jacksonville.com. Your review may appear in an upcoming issue of Jack, our Friday entertainment section. Include your name, age, part of town in which you live, phone number and photo (if you choose).

Use the comments section below

What a crazy idea. "The Color Purple" will never make money.

That's the kind of flak producer Scott Sanders says he got when he told people he wanted to make a musical based on Alice Walker's revered novel.

African-Americans won't go to the theater, naysayers told him, referencing a study that claimed only 2 percent to 3 percent of theatergoers are black.

And besides, he was warned, a story about racism and sexism in 1930s Georgia was way too serious for the stage.

But Scott proved them wrong. It wasn't such a crazy idea.

On tour since 2007, "The Color Purple" will be in Jacksonville Tuesday through Sunday, Nov. 22, at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts. It is part of The Artist Series.

"No matter what gender, race or age," Sanders said, "you're very likely to see someone you know [in the characters], if not yourself."

Backed by Oprah Winfrey, "The Color Purple" was nominated for 11 Tonys after it opened on Broadway in December 2005. The original $11 million investment was recouped in its first year, according to Playbill, and it's still going strong.

Even Angela Robinson, the Jacksonville native playing Shug Avery, found the idea strange. She read and was blown away by the book "The Color Purple" when she was about 21.

"I could not imagine it at all," she said. "But, you know, in the end, I was the crazy one."

When she reviewed the scene and music sent to her for an audition, she started to understand.

"I wanted to book it," she said. "Alice Walker's words have such rhythm, and scream music. ... It makes sense."

Robinson, who grew up in Springfield and went to Raines High School, got her start at the Alhambra Dinner Theatre.

Tod Booth, former owner of the Alhambra, was her biggest advocate, she said. After casting her in several roles, he persuaded her to move to New York to advance her career.

Her first Broadway play was "Play On" in 1996, and she's also been in "Bells are Ringing" and "Wonderful Town." She was cast as an understudy in "The Color Purple," but became the lead actress portraying Shug about 31/2 years ago.

Shug, an extroverted bar singer, is the mistress of a man married to the main character, Celie. Despite the dynamic, Shug plays a pivotal role in Celie's troubled life, inspiring her to break free of sexist oppression.

"The one thing about Shug is that she doesn't make any apologies for who she is," Robinson said.

It may not be evident on the surface, but Shug is a spiritual person. Robinson said Shug provides an important reminder to modern women: "We're all multi-sided. We should all keep that in mind."

The topics in "The Color Purple" are serious, but "there's tremendous heart," said Scott, the producer. "Alice [Walker] gave us a lot of humor on the stage."

Robinson, who has three solo songs, said the musical conveys that "you can laugh through your trials."

"It is not a downer," she said Instead, it's a story of hope, triumph and the human spirit.

Robinson said she hopes theater audiences walk away inspired, with a sense that anything can change.